Rove and Stewart

Just so good.

Palin was good- This is getting fun

So good that it jolted awake the democrats. It's interesting to read more here.

Here's the part that stood out to me.

From and Obama aid: $8 million raised since Palin's speech from over 130,000 donors - on pace to hit $10 million by the time John McCain hits the stage tonight.

The Palin pick energized Republicans...... and has given a jolt to Democrats, too. (The RNC has raised $1m since Palin's speech.)

Point of Clarity: Palin was good as in making it interesting. But same ol politics. spin spin spin.

Celebrity and position

Zach is quoting Andrew who is quoting Mark DeMoss.

Here’s an interesting excerpt from a post from Steven Waldman, the editor-in-chief of Belief.net:

Mark DeMoss, former chief of staff to Jerry Falwell and now a leading Christian public relations executive, is hoping that Palin turns out well but has been shocked and worried by the reflexive Christian embrace of her.

“Too many evangelicals and religious conservative are too preoccupied with values and faith and pay no attention to competence. We don’t apply this approach to anything else in life, including choosing a pastor.” Imagine, he said, if a church was searching for a pastor and the leadership was brought a candidate with great values but little experience. “They’ve been a pastor for two years at a church with 150 people but he shares our values, so we hired him to be pastor of our 5,000 person church? It wouldn’t happen! We don’t say, ‘He shares our values, so let’s hire him.’ That’s absurd. Yet we apply that to choosing presidents. It blows my mind.”

Does anyone else remember Promise Keepers full on embrace and ordination of this guy at several of their stadium events?

Diddy on McCain

Check this out. P. Diddy on McCain's choice for VP.

Link

Thanks to Bob Hyatt

Juan Williams

You don't have to like Obama to appreciate the moment do you? The emotion of Juan Williams as he talks is what stands out to me and the meaning it seems to have for him in a moment of something akin to vulnerable. As followers of Christ, regardless of your political stance, or lack there of, can we recognize this as meaningful and important for us all? I keep watching this video over and over.
Tell me what you think.

Zach Lind on Prayer at the DNC

Zach Lind may know a thing to two about living in a world in which you don't connect or believe all the same things as those around you. He's the drummer for a rock band and all. With this in mind, he take on the rational for Cameron Strang not praying at the DNC was interesting to me.


Link

on Biden

I personally don't know who I will vote for in November. Chances are you will never know who i choose. But Biden is such an interesting choice for VP to me. I know the criticisms. But I have been a Biden fan for a long time.

Do you remember this in the debates? I thought Obama's and Biden's answers were memorable.

God's Children - McCain

Jon Stewart weighs in on Obama /Dobson

Obama's Speech this morning

I was on the elliptical when I saw that Obama was going to speak this morning. I read his speech as it was delivered on CNN.

I must say that this speech was one of the greatest speeches I've ever heard on race by a politician in my lifetime. You don't have to like Obama's policy to like 95% of this speech. Words fall short in describing it. What he said was true and beautiful and pointed. His indictment was not simply for his former pastor, but for his white grandmother who has said racist things as well. His refusal to simply right people off, for political reasons, be it his pastor or his grandmother points toward a new way of thinking about the messiness of race.

I think of my own extended family when over Christmas, one family member says something like, "I've got to stay true to my southern roots. A black man running. not voting for him. can't vote for a black man. next. A woman. not voting for a woman. next. a white man. sounds good.

This is a family member who's comments are racist, sexist and down right insidious, and they are a part of the family. We live with the tension. But I'm not willing to see the world as static.

Listen to the speech. His comments about the church are incredible alone. About the wisdom and ignorance, the good and bad, all present with the church was very observant as well.

Here's a transcript of the speech.

How well does your Pastor define you?

Barack Obama's former pastor in Chicago is in the news and folks on the right side of the political spectrum are using it against Barack. The pastor has said some pretty bold, and an occassionally unbelievable things. But then what pastor hasn't said something crazy really?

It makes me wonder a few things:
first- video outside the context of the church is not as helpful as we hope it is. The video circulating youtube and the like means something really different to the people in the church in that local community than it does to you and me. We hear it differently. (Don't read this as a defense of what he said, I haven't heard it all. But this is true.)

second - As much as the average Senior Pastor hopes, wishes or believes that his/her congregation believes the same thing they do, it's simply not true. Often, the Senior Pastor is tolerated, while the real richness of the community is what engages people. this certainly isn't news to the people in the pews. But it might be to you if you are a Sr Pastor.

Can a person go to a church and regularly disagree with the preacher? abosolutely. it happens every week in your church.

Hope but Kinda Different

Don't know if you saw this. It's a parody on the Yes we can for Obama.
This is for McCain

um.. wow

Dear Mr. Obama

Dear Mr. Obama,
I'm struggling here. Over the past year I've been listening and you've almost got me convinced to vote for you. Some of your policies I just can't agree with and I have a Republican candidate that I'm looking at as well. But you intrigue me the most of all the candidates. I really do think that you can be a unifying presence in our country. You have it in you to do that. But I'm struggling now because I keep seeing you with Ted Kennedy, and to me that particular Kennedy embodies everything a lot of what you speak against. It's difficult for me to think you are going to bring real change when you have Ted Kennedy stumping for you. I watching. I have no idea who I'm going to vote for. But this really is confusing for me. BTW, while I'm at it. If you do win the primary, picking Clinton as a running mate or the like will insure a vote in a different direction.

The State of the Union

Last night I had a moment while watching the State of the Union when it showed Dick Cheney sitting behind the president and I actually thought, "Dang, is he still around..."

I'm a registered Republican and I voted for Bush/Cheney. But I can't wait to see them both gone at this point. and I surprised myself with my disappointment that Cheney was still in office. My disappointment was not some kind of demonized portrayal of him, I think he's a really smart guy, but I'm ready for him to be gone.

I guess I need to live with the consequences of my decision a little longer.

Wow.

Huckabee Ad - Very Funny

In the YouTube debate I wrote about yesterday I was disappointed by some of the ads. Fred Thompsons actually elicited a "What's up with that?" from Anderson Cooper, live in front of the country?

This on the other hand was what I was looking for.
Very nice.

GOP Debates

I need to register to vote, now that we're living in Oklahoma again.

For whatever reason, I've caught parts of two (I think) Presidential debates for the Democrats. I've enjoyed watching those. There are folks I'm really pulling against and a couple I'm pretty open too. I really don't want to see Hillary become president. Barack is very interesting to me. He consistantly says things I'm feeling, but I am a bit wary that he is too good to be true. Joe Biden is someone I think would make a great president, but I doubt he'll get that far. Not enough flair. Probably too much quality actually. Sad to say.

Last night I was working, the TV was on, and the GOP debate came on. I must confess that I have heard some of various names on stage, but couldn't pick most of them out of a crowd. I hear that the front runners are Mit Romney and Rudi G.

I was captivated. Being a person who voted for Bush (dang that was hard to type) and someone who generally votes republican I have been thinking that the Dem debates are more important for me to watch, while the GOP candidates will likely voice opinions closer to my own.

Wow. I was wrong. I'll just say, that I have started hoping that Mit Romney will not become president. Rudi G. either. I found my jaw on the floor at most of Mit's answers. I couldn't believe someone could saw what he was saying. He looks a bit like a snake-oil salesmen to me, but I'm not just talking about looks. I'm talking about the quality of his answers and the values that support them.

Frankly I'm completely surprised by Rudi G's being in the running still. I don't think he's qualified and while he's more himself in front us, I'm not sure I want him being my president. Nope. He can't be the guy.

I found myself really liking Huckabee. I'm not sure about the Fair Tax, I need to research it more, but I love his responses. His plans in the past for schooling illegal immigrants kids was excellent and said that he didn't want to penalize children for the crimes their kids commit.
Mit didn't want to provide education for these kids. Huckabee's comment to Mit "We're a better country than that" was powerful.

Also. McCain did a great job yesterday. I voted for McCain years ago when he ran, but lost because he took shots at Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell. (which I thought were appropriate actually) He really turned me off with his going to Falwell at the beginning of his campaign. It left me feeling icky. And I lost confidence in McCain. But yesterday, I liked what I heard.

His response about immigration was especially good I thought. He said something to the effect of "these are people who need love too".

The guy on the end of the stage looked lost. Like a character out of a SNL skit.

I don't talk politics very often here, thanks for bearing with me.
I have no idea what this means, but these are just some of my thoughts